


A little Gable, Some Astaire

by writtenndust



Category: Agent Carter (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-29
Updated: 2016-03-29
Packaged: 2018-05-29 22:01:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6395575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writtenndust/pseuds/writtenndust
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She was a vision; radiant and glamorous in the warm Californian sun - adoring the masses of Stark’s friends with her elegance and charm.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A little Gable, Some Astaire

**Author's Note:**

> The title of this story comes from a Caro Emerald song because I have been listening to Caro Emerald non-stop since I realised it was her song 'That Man' that played in the beginning of the Agent Carter pilot.

Daniel watched from the side of the pool with a beer to his right and no inclination to move. The party was in full swing, Howard flittered around in his swim-trunks and ornate robe, glasses perched on his nose as one arm curled around the waist of an unsuspecting ingenue, whilst his other raised his sparkling martini glass to the curve of his smug, moustached smirk.

Socialites and celebrities surrounded the pool with their glittering bathing suits and designer hats, smiling and laughing and chatting about very little that held any interest for Daniel. What surprised him, as he sat with his back against the soft cushion and reclined, with his poor leg stretched out on the deck chair for support, was that Peggy seemed to be relishing it.

He was honest with himself in knowing that, she was the only one who held any kind of fascination to him - Stark was as superficial as his guests, regardless of having proven a good, decent sort of party-boy genius. Dugan was as dim as his nickname suggested and had taken it upon himself to avoid small talk in favour of following Peggy around like a protective, over-sized puppy. And Jarvis, to his credit, was keeping them all impressively hydrated.

Daniel was grateful for his own sunglasses - the only other real sign that he had dressed for a pool-party to the outside observer, aside from his Hawaiian shirt. He really wasn’t one for showing off his prosthetic to more than his nearest and dearest - which kept the pool of those who had seen Daniel in anything other than a long pair of slacks, to his little sister, Jarvis and Howard - the latter two only after much posturing about fixing his gait and saving him the need for his crutch. 

Daniel was grateful, and for the most part, he could move without the crutch now, considering how fantastically designed and bespoke the leg was - it was nearly even respectable to look at, if he were to over-state the matter with his enthusiasm, which - for the sake of Stark’s ego - he would not. But he walked with the crutch all the same, if only for the comfort of it, for that support if for some reason, Starks record on first-time inventions came back to bite him.

He had no doubts that Howard had done it more for Peggy than for him - he had no misgivings about just what kind of effect she had on men; her relationship with Howard being one of the most unfathomable things he’d ever seen. But the man adored her, much the way that Daniel adored his little sister, Grace, and he couldn’t fault the man for doing his level best to ensure Peggy wasn’t saddled with a man who could never take her dancing.

She deserved better, she deserved the world and that, at least, was something they saw eye-to-eye on.

It made his heart quicken, just a little, thinking that he wouldn’t half mind if Peggy joined that inner circle - and he wondered when showing off his fake leg had become such a rite-of-passage for the woman who had corrupted his mind, body and soul for over a year with that rich, burgundy smile.

He hadn’t expected her to enjoy such things, but she was lavishing the attention that the party had offered her, almost as much as Howard was. Her smile was incandescent, brightened with that signature lipstick that made his heart beat faster. It seemed that red was her accent for the day, as her sunglasses, hat and bathing suit, were all adorned with red trimmings.

She wore a broad-brimmed black hat with a red ribbon and a pair of very wide-legged, high-waisted, black palazzo pants over her strapless, white bathing suit. She was a vision; radiant and glamorous in the warm Californian sun - adoring the masses of Stark’s friends with her elegance and charm. She carried a bright-coloured cocktail in her hand and moved among the crowd with ease.

Daniel felt something prickle up the back of his neck, he twitched; he choked on his beer just a little, as he caught sight of a man whose gaze followed Peggy across the patio, making his way down the few stone steps to join her as she gracefully took a seat on a deck chair the same as his own, just near the edge of the pool. Daniel flinched, sitting up a little higher in his seat, watching intently - he could practically feel his skin turning green.

“Hey, isn’t that…” Dugan’s voice beside him made him jump and Daniel tore his eyes away from Peggy for just a moment, looking up at the large man who, for that moment, was blocking out the sun.

Daniel turned back to see the man’s hand resting on Peggy’s forearm as she laughed heartily, her head tipping back so far she had to grasp her hat.

“Gable,” Howard chimed in, having taken a seat on the other side of Daniel to Dugan, dropping another beer down next to Daniel’s empty bottle without a word. “I was trying to convince him to come on board with Stark Pictures, but apparently he’s already working on some crack-pot post-war picture for MGM.”

“Shame,” Daniel grumbled in response to Stark, but his eyes didn’t leave Peggy, laughing again at something the popularly professed, King of Hollywood had to say.

Howard was watching him out of the corner of his eye and he smirked. “You jealous, Danny?”

Daniel flinched and tore his eyes from Peggy. “What?” He blinked. “No.”

Howard scoffed and Dugan took a puff of his cigar, chuckling.

“I’m not.”

“Yeah,” Howard took a swig of his martini and pushed his sunglasses back up his nose. “You’re really unaffected there. I’m sure it happens every day, your girl sitting there, talking to one of the most devilishly handsome men in Hollywood.” Howard was smirking over the top of Daniel’s head, sharing a silent joke with Duggan who was surprisingly following along quite well.

“Shut up, Stark.” Daniel grumbled and Howard just laughed.

“Yeah,” He stood up, shaking his empty martini glass in the air for Jarvis to see across the pool. “You’re really not bothered.” He strutted away and Daniel groaned under his breath.

“Don’t worry,” Dugan said softly. “Peg’s as loyal as they come and totally hung up on you.”

“Oh yeah?” 

“Yeah, trust me, I know Peggy.” Daniel looked the man over as his voice became almost wistful. “I’ve known her a long time and you know,” He laughed, looking Peggy’s way with a serene smile. “She’s got a way and men, we’re not really tough against women who have a way about them like Peg, we wanna make her happy,” He met Daniel’s eye. “And right we should, but of all the men that have tried, I’ve only seen Peggy fall over herself twice.”

“Is that so?” Daniel’s voice caught, worried about what Dugan was going to say next.

“She looks at you the way she used to look at _him_.” Daniel knew by _him_ , Dugan didn’t mean Clark Gable and he swallowed, his adams apple bobbing with the implication of what Dugan was getting at. “You’ve got a lot in common, you and him and I gotta say,” Dugan grinned. “I’m happy you’re the one she’s picked.”

Daniel’s eyes had drifted back to Peggy and his heart fell into his stomach as he watched another man approach. Howard had made his way over to the bar that currently sat under the awning that usually acted as the cover for his outdoor gym, and was currently dropping a needle on a record he’d just set in the player. Daniel’s eyes narrowed and he knew, Howard was still pushing his buttons.

The man that had approached Peggy with hand outstretched, was possibly an even worse insult to the already green-faced, fuming SSR Chief who was feeling more and more like he was strapped to his deck-chair, useless and unimportant. He watched as Peggy handed her cocktail to Clark, whose grin was broad and adoring as she stood from her seat, dutifully following the hand that held hers and guided her to the make-shift dance floor that had been erected on the lawn.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Daniel scowled.

“Isn’t that Fred?” Dugan asked and Daniel shuffled in his seat, in frustrated reply.

The man led Peggy across the dance-floor, guiding her to the tune of Bing Crosby’s voice playing over the record player, drawing all eyes to them. They danced the length of the song and Daniel stayed on his deck-chair, waving down Jarvis for another beer whenever he was out, for the remainder of the party.

Peggy’s eyes darted to him a few times and when he stopped meeting her gaze, he did notice that her smile started to falter. 

His heart beat loudly in his ears and he wished, all of a sudden, that Duggan hadn’t abandoned his post at his side. A part of him even wished for Howard to be back there, all so he didn’t have to look directly at Peggy.

“Are you alright, Daniel?” She smiled sweetly, pulling her sunglasses off as she sat down on the chair at his hip. Her leg brushed his and on impulse, he reached his hand out to curl his fingers in hers on the cushion.

“I’m fine,” He smiled, unconvincingly.

“No you’re not.” She was far too clever and caring.

“I’m fine, really.” He tried not to snap, but his frustration was eating at him.

“Daniel,”

“How do you think I feel, Peggy?” He finally broke. “You’re over there chatting with Clark Gable, of all people.”

“So!”

“So?” He scoffed. “So?! He’s Clark Gable, Peggy - don’t tell me you don’t see it.”

She fidgeted. “I don’t see how his reputation should matter.”

Daniel rolled his eyes. “And then you’re off dancing with the most famous Hollywood dancer of our time, and I,” Daniel’s voice trailed off and he looked down at their hands - Peggy’s rich red nails contrasted against the callouses from his crutch and his heart ached. “I see you with them and I can’t help but feel, like I’m not good enough.”

“Daniel!” She chided, a little louder than was proper. Duggan and Ana looked up from where they were clearing bottles but when she pressed her lips tight together and stared intently into his eyes, everyone that was left, looked away. When she spoke again, her voice was gentler. “How could you say that?”

“You’re amazing, Peggy, really,” He smiled, trying to lighten the mood between them. “And sometimes I wonder what you’re doing with me.”

Peggy blinked. “I want to be with you, Daniel.”

“But when you’ve got Fred Astaire and Clark Gable fawning over you, I can’t compete with that.”

Peggy studied him intently for a moment and he could see in her eyes that she was calculating her response. She blinked, those rich, dark, thick lashes brushed against her cheeks, almost coyly. The sun was setting behind her, with the garden bathed in a darkening, purple and orange hue. It surrounded her in a halo of light, made her so beautiful he could barely catch his breath. Daniel hadn’t noticed that the day had drifted into night, he’d spent so long brooding and worrying about where he stood with Peggy, that he hadn’t noticed the yard empty out of Howard’s guests. Howard had disappeared and Dugan had retired to the house with Jarvis and Ana, unbeknownst to Daniel, leaving him entirely alone by the pool with Peggy.

“Daniel,” Peggy licked her lips. “I don’t want those men.”

“But I don’t look like Clark and I certainly can’t dance like Fred.”

Peggy laughed, that broad-lipped, happy laugh with her whole being. She gripped his hand tighter and tipped her head, looking right into his eyes. The lights of the pool were reflecting off her eyes, making them glisten in the dusk.

She reached up, gently brushing her fingers through the hair at his temples. “I don’t know,” She smirked. “You’ve got that smattering of grey just here like Clark does,” She grinned then ran her fingers down the side of his face to lovingly grip his jaw. “And this square jaw,” Her eyes narrowed enticingly. “very sexy.”

Daniel could feel a blush heating his cheeks as she leaned forward to whisper in his ear. “Don’t even get me started on the muscle definition.” He shivered as she pressed her palm to his chest and Peggy grinned.

“Peg,” He breathed, his eyes following her as she stood from the chaise.

“Come swimming with me, Daniel.” She tossed her hat to the foot of the chaise and unclipped her belt, letting that too, fall to the cushions.

“Peggy, I…”

“It’s just us,” She spoke in a conspiratorial whisper. “it’s alright.”

“I’m not sure if that’s a good idea.”

Peggy was reaching around to undo the clasp at the back of her pants when she stopped. She paused there, just looking down at him with the last remnants of an indigo sunset at her back and Daniel could feel his heart pounding in his ears.

“Please, Daniel. Swim with me.” She said the words so quietly but with such conviction he knew everything she wasn’t asking. She went back to the clasp of her pants, slowly undoing the zip and letting them fall to the ground in a billowing heap of, rich, dark silk. It left her standing before him in just her swimsuit, with her lines and curves exposed for him to see - she had a strength and definition in the muscles of her legs that would have made him weak in the knee, had he the will to stand and the cinch of her waist with the breadth of her décolletage made her look like one of those pin-up girls he had seen in magazines.  
She took his breath away.

Daniel watched her as she backed away from him, turning to make her way to the end of the pool where the stairs were. She lowered herself down, one step at a time, not taking her eyes off him. Daniel let out a shuddering breath before reaching down to untie his shoe. He tossed it aside before reaching for the buckle of his pants.

He could feel Peggy’s eyes on him as she paddled around the pool and he was grateful, in that moment, for the lights Howard had built into the walls of the pool. They bathed Peggy in light, making her look like a mermaid come to save him from drowning.

He didn’t have any trunks to swim in, but like Peggy had said, they were alone and he was sure she wouldn’t begrudge him his white cotton boxers in Howard’s pool, in the dark. He shuffled out of his pants, tossing them aside before swinging his legs over the side of the chair as best he could.

“Do you need help?” Peggy’s voice came to him small and quiet and gentle and he turned, seeing her with her chin rested on the edge of the pool, smiling.

“No, it’s fine, I’m used to it.” He smiled back, nervously.

Daniel unbuckled his prosthetic, glancing at her a couple of times before gently lifting his stump from the cradle and setting the fake leg aside. He unwrapped the fabric from around his severed knee and sat for a moment, feeling the cool breeze on the exposed limb.

Peggy watched as he tossed his shirt aside lowered himself down onto the ground, carefully shuffling his way to the edge of the pool. His good leg was dropped into the water beside her shoulder and Daniel sighed.

“It’s ugly, I know.”

Peggy didn’t say a word. The water lapped at her as she moved, touching the ends of her hair like it too, was desperate to have any part of her it could get. She moved around his good leg and her fingers touching at the back of his calf felt like they’d have seared his skin, but for the cool water. She looked up at him them, those large doe eyes smiling at him as those fingers moved from good leg to bad. 

Daniel shivered.

The fingers of both her hands rested on either side of what was left of his knee. Her thumbs drew gentle patterns on the scar that wrapped around and up the sides of the joint. He was thankful, in all it’s gore and hideousness, that the joint had survived. At least that had made it easier for him to re-learn how to walk.

His eyes pressed shut suddenly and his breath caught in his throat as he felt her lips, full and soft and luscious, touch the edge of the large scar that ran across his knee from left to right, where they’d severed his leg from his body and sewn him back up again. Those lips, that carried her bright english etiquette and scathing sarcasm. Those lips that had kissed him, so fiercely and possessively.

“Peg,” He shuddered at the feel of it, quaking at her mercy.

“Daniel,” He could hear a smirk in her voice and it drew his eyes to open and rest on her again. “Come in the water.”

At her word he slipped forward, lowering himself down into the water with his broad arms braced against the side of the pool. Peggy had backed away, wading out into the middle of the pool where the water was deep and she had to paddle to stay afloat.

“Here I am.” His smile grew stronger with every move she made to discount his anxiety about her and his leg.

“Now,” She paddled back towards him, reaching out to wrap her arms around his neck so that their chests and bellies were flush against each other. He swore she could feel his heart beating erratically against his chest, because he wasn’t entirely sure he couldn’t feel hers. “Dance with me.” She grinned, her eyes lidded and sultry as she tilted her head just so, to touch her lips to his.

Daniel grinned against her mouth, smiling stupidly as she kissed him and wrapped her arms even tighter around him. His hands dropped below the water, holding tight to her waist as they moved, dancing through the pool with an ease he was unused to on dry land.

Peggy laughed as they danced, marvelling at the strength he could manage with the water to hold him upright. “See,” She smiled tenderly, stopping him with gentle hands to his biceps. “I don’t need those men,” She gripped his arms, looking him over with clear appreciation and Daniel could feel a heat rise to his cheeks. “You’re a little Gable, some Astaire,” She giggled as Daniel spun her around and came to a stop again. “You’re all they are and more.” She sighed. “You’re a good man, Daniel; brave and honest and noble.” She stared into his eyes, biting her lower lip for a moment. “You have everything I need.”

Daniel kissed her then, again, soundly and possessively, pressing her against the wall of the pool as her nails raked down his back.

“And the leg?” He breathlessly spoke at her ear.

He felt her shudder against him as one of her legs wrapped tightly around his waist, locking him in place.

“What about it?” She smirked and Daniel laughed before kissing her again, relishing in the fact that she truly didn’t care. It made it that bit more trivial to him. Walking without it was still hard, dressing it and wearing a prosthetic was uncomfortable and tiring but it built up his arms and clearly, Peggy wasn’t complaining about that. Living the rest of his life without his leg was hard, but it was a hard truth he’d become accustomed to long ago.

What was different now was that Peggy didn’t care. She didn’t think him less of a man, because he was missing a part. She didn’t feel she needed to slow the world for him or put things within reach.

And he loved her for that.

The End.


End file.
